“The whole dissident idea attracts a lot of crazies. And then all of a sudden, without realizing it, you've become one of them." Peter Duesberg, 2009

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Denying AIDS: Conspiracy Theories, Pseudoscience, and Human Tragedy

Seeking Stories of AIDS Denialism

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Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Over the years, HIV/AIDS has evolved from a certain death
sentence to a manageable ailment. This metamorphosis didn’t come easy though,
because for a long time, the ambiguous nature of the disease gave voice to AIDS
denialists who refused to believe the scientific consensus for the
disease.

The following individuals and their views fuelled a movement
called AIDS denialism, that had many believing AIDS wasn’t caused by HIV. Some
of the most infamous proponents of this movement were molecular-biologist Peter
Duesberg, chemist David Rasnick, journalist Celia Farber, vitamin salesman
Matthias Rath and former South Africa President Thabo Mbeki.

Peter Duesberg – The Cherry Picker

Duesberg’s stance that HIV did not cause AIDS, had disastrous
consequences, particularly in South Africa where President Thabo Mbeki was
convinced Duesberg was right. He was of the opinion that HIV is a harmless
passenger virus and the real cause of AIDS was long-term consumption of
recreational drugs and antiretroviral drugs.

Cherry picking is a logical fallacy that often has disastrous
consequences in scientific research. It alludes to taking a particular position
while ignoring a large amount of data to support your stand. The father of AIDS
denialism, a 2008 Discover Magazine feature on Duesberg has HIV/AIDS
expert Max Essex suggesting: ‘…history will judge Duesberg as either ‘a nut who
is just a tease to the scientific community’ or an ‘enabler to mass murder’ for
the deaths of many AIDS patients in Africa.’

David Rasnick – The Chemist Who ‘helped’

Rasnick claimed that retroviruses are not sexually transmissible
and have never been shown to cause disease as distressing as HIV. He believed
AIDS wasn’t caused by HIV. He had proposed that HIV testing be outlawed. His
work with vitamin enthusiast Matthias Rath in South Africa is even more
damaging. They ran trials in South Africa where instead of giving poor people
with HIV effective antiretroviral, they were given vitamin supplements.

Matthias Rath – The Vitamin Salesman

Matthias Rath claimed that a program of nutritional supplements
– which he obviously sells – can treat HIV/AIDS. None of his claims have ever
been backed up by research. Rath’s views had a lot of influence on South
African President Mbeki and his health minister Dr. Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.

Rath was castigated by the head of Doctors Without Borders (MSF)
who said: ‘This guy is killing people by luring them with unrecognised
treatment without any scientific evidence’ whom he obviously tried to sue.

His ‘trials’ led to the death of several participants and a Cape
High Court banned Rath and his foundation from conducting clinical trials or
from advertising their products in South Africa. It also asked the government
to investigate the vitamin trials. Meanwhile, Rath expanded his business to
target Russia, another country with a huge HIV positive population.

Celia Farber – the Fear-mongering Journalist

Duesberg gained a lot of coverage, thanks to journalist Celia
Farber who wrote extensively about HIV/AIDS including articles in which she
pointed out flaws in methodology of early HIV researchers. She was also
critical of AZT – the first US government approved treatment for HIV. Her
writings gave voice to anti-AZT proponents who claimed that the treatment made
the disease worse.

While scientists felt her writings were sensationalist drivel
for tabloids, Duesberg’s words in her column, in which he compared people
taking AZT to ‘people running into gas chambers,’ had a massive impact on
HIV positive people who refused to take the drugs. If Duesberg was the voice of
AIDS denialism, Farber was the loudspeaker that helped promote that voice.

Christine Maggiore – The Mother in Denial

Christine Maggiore was an HIV positive mother who refused to
take AZT and was a powerful advocate who gave the AIDS denialism movement a
huge boost. She wrote a book called ‘If Everything You Thought You Knew
about AIDS Was Wrong?’ and founded the Alive & Well AIDS Alternatives
organisation. The organisation disputed the link between HIV and AIDS, urged HIV-positive
mothers to not take anti-HIV medication. She refused to take it herself, which
led to the death of her daughter who was born HIV positive and died due to its
complications.

She never took the medications herself and she allegedly
died of AIDS-related complications herself in 2008. Since an autopsy was never
carried out, there’s no way to confirm the cause of death, The Los Angeles
County coroner’s office stated that she had been treated for pneumonia in the
last six months of her life. A doctor familiar with the family claimed that
anti-HIV drugs could’ve prevented her death, her fellow denialists claim she
died as a result of a toxic alternative medicine or stress.

South African President Thabo MBelki – The ‘believer’

South Africa has more people living with HIV than any other
country on the planet and if you were to blame one individual for this sorry
state of affairs, it is former President Thabo Mbeki. His disastrous regime of
AIDS denialism led to 18.8% of the people in South Africa suffering from HIV
while as of 2005, the disease killed 900 people each day. In 2000, Mbeki came
under the influence of AIDS denialists at the International AIDS Conference in
Durban.

He believed Duesberg’s theory that, HIV was caused due to
poverty in Africa and expensive Western medicine was not the key. He deferred
to his Health Minister Dr. Manto Tshabalala-Msimang who served as his health
minister from 1999 to 2008. She believed the disease could be treated with
alcoholic beverages and vegetables like garlic and beetroot, rather than
antiretroviral medicines. It’s believed that these views caused death of at
least 300,000 South Africans.

Operation INFEKTION – KGB’s Secret Agenda

Along with the Duesberg champions, another major blow
against HIV was caused by the Russian Intellice in Russia who looked to
implicate the US in a move called Operation INFEKTION. Through manipulation of
data and media control, the KGB wanted to blame the Pentagon for creating HIV
in a lab. This had long-term consequences since the entire nation continued to
be in denial about the disease and positive tests were hushed up to promote the
original view. Docs were forced to misdiagnose and the government failed to
take any steps to protect or warn the public about the disease. While it did
promote anti-Americanism across the world, the denial led to many people from
high-risk groups never getting the treatment that could’ve saved their lives.
Scarily, there are some who still continue to believe that HIV was created in a
lab as a biological weapon.

Read Ben Goldacre and keep up with Bad Science

Don't Get Fooled Again: The Skeptic's Guide to Life by Richard Wilson

AIDS Denialism on Law & Order

If you missed the Law & Order episode 'Retro' on AIDS denialism you will want to see the 2-minute Replay. This episode portrays a woman who denies she has HIV in which she and her infant daughter both die of AIDS. Sound familiar? Click the pic to watch.

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In Denying AIDS, Seth Kalichman provides a fascinating look into the thinking of those who propagate AIDS myths and the negative impact they have on our response to a deadly disease. He shows us how AIDS pseudoscience confuses the public and threatens sound public health policy. Anyone who cares about the global HIV/AIDS pandemic should read this book. Helene D. Gayle, Chair of the 2009 US Presidential Council on AIDS, CEO CARE USA, former Assistant Surgeon GeneralSeth Kalichman brilliantly uses a psychological lens to expose the wacky world that creates and maintains its presence despite the untold numbers of deaths and suffering it has caused. This book is a wake up call to policy makers and scientists, particularly in places most affected by the pandemic, that denialism must be confronted if we want to bring it under control. A must read for those who want to know more about the power and influence of pseudoscience.Michael Merson, Director, Global Health Institute at Duke University and Former Director of the World Health Organization's Global Program on AIDS.

This excellent book examines the detailed history of HIV/AIDS denialism as well as its damaging impact throughout the world. HIV/AIDS denialism and its proponents have created confusion when the clear provision of scientifically accurate communication was most needed.James Curran, Dean of the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, Former Director of the CDC HIV/AIDS Division.

Seth Kalichman has superbly captured the contradictions inherent in AIDS denialism. He has deftly uncovered its religious-like fervor, its vociferous proponents and passionate opponents as well as its destructive force when legitimized by the South African President.Salim S. Abdool Karim, Member of the 2000 South African Presidential Panelon AIDS, Professor at University of KwaZulu-Natal, and Director of Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA)

Royalties from Denying AIDS are donated to buy HIV treatments in Africa